This entry actually began as a letter I was writing to my senator in regards to the PV2 Munoz situation. Somewhere it evolved into a 2.5 page essay. I will be revising it to return it to it's original purpose but I decided to share these ramblings with the world. Yes, there are probably mistakes. It's 3 freaking AM.
Conscientious
Objection or Conscious Cowardice?
On this date twenty
eight years ago, I was blessed to have been born in the land of the
free and the home of the brave. Sharing the celebration of my birth
with the birth of our great nation was a tradition of my childhood.
My parents taught me to respect this country and the service members
who fought for the freedoms I enjoy. Like so many others, my family
has prayed for loved ones answering the call of military service
during every conflict these United States has taken part in. Seven
years ago my husband also took that sacred Oath of Enlistment. I have
sent him off to war, rejoiced when he safely returned and will
forever help him fight the nightmares that unceasingly haunt him.
Today is a day of celebration and yet I am deeply saddened, and
infuriated that a revered symbol of my beloved nation is being worn
by a coward.
Private Christoper
Munoz, of Ft Hood, Texas has refused to deploy based on his
application for discharge under status of conscientious objector. His
actions are not only disrespecting the uniform he is privileged to
wear, but all service members who came before him. Army Regulation
600-41 was written to protect those service members whose belief
system in regards to their participation in any war had been so
transformed that they can no longer perform their duties in good
conscious.
Upon completion of
his training, Private Munoz reported to Fort Hood in April, 2013.
Though he claims to have already had doubts about whether he could
participate in war at this point, he did not file his application for
discharge until June 25, 2013. He submitted this application after
receiving advice from the Our Lives, Our Rights campaign, led by
active-duty soldiers and veterans whose mission is to arm their
brothers and sisters in arms with tactics to avert deployment. Their
mission statement is to use conscientious objection to refuse to
deploy to Afghanistan. I fully support the proper use of AR 600-41 to
protect the moral integrity and mental health of individuals whose
belief systems change during their time of service. The regulation is
not designed to be used to receive a discharge based on a political
objection to a particular war; it is an objection to all wars and
bearing arms.
Rather than deploy
and fulfill his duty, Private Munoz will rest comfortably at home
with his family while his fellow soldiers risk life and limb to
defend his right to do so. He had an obligation to them to declare
his supposed objection upon the realization that he could not
participate in combat. Despite knowing his true feelings, he
continued to collect his salary and benefits without mention of his
objection to Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. It was not
until the date of his impending deployment loomed that he decided to
ask for a discharge. Though the Conscientious Objector regulation
does not require a specific time frame to apply but to help prove the
sincerity, a true objector would not want to waste precious time
knowing they could receive orders to deploy at any time. Taking
payment for an obligation a person does not intend upon completing is
fraudulent. This private is making a mockery of the US Army by
attempting use this improperly use this regulation for personal gain
of benefits he refuses to earn. He is barred from commenting due to
his status in the military but his wife, Breanna, has stated during
an interview with KXXV's Colton Scott that, “He just seemed really
different and had a different attitude about the Army...Once he got
here, we found out that he was going to be deployed and everything
just got more real, and he just felt like he couldn't do it.” She
goes on to say, “...it kind of brings awareness to the other
soldiers who don't want to go,” then hesitates before adding, “or
who also have the same war inside them to be able to come forward and
actually say it, and do something about it.” Does this sound like a
man objecting the act of war or a coward who could not handle the
reality of the commitment he made?
In a photo on the
Our Rights, Our Lives campaign website, Breanna Munoz is wearing a
hoodie with a large decal of the phrase “Proud Army Wife.” I beg
to differ, Mrs Munoz. A proud Army wife would not stand idly by as
her husband shirks his duties. None of my fellow spouses want to
spend sleepless nights praying to hear their voice at the end of the
line when the phone call rings and cringing when we hear a knock at
our door. You do not understand the fear that you have no idea you
have just become a widow when the unit goes on blackout. Proud Army
wives stand behind our husbands, not in submission, but in support in
the times they feel they cannot continue forward; we are the hands
that hold them up when they falter. Hand that hoodie off to a woman
who understands what it truly means.
Processing an
application for discharge can take 6-9 months. As of current, this
young man stands to be honorably discharged with all the benefits of
a service member who completed their contracts. The American people
will foot the bill for a college education and VA benefits upon his
separation from the Army after paying him salary, housed his family
and provided health care that he refuses to earn. He has already
taken more from this country than he ever intended to give back. I
urge you to heed my battle cry and demand that sacred uniform be
stripped from his disgraceful back without granting him the benefits
he so adamantly refuses to earn. Share my thoughts with your friends,
family, and elected officials in hopes that Lieutenant Colonel Kirk
Luedeke of Fort Hood's 1st Cavalry Division will prevent the improper
use of this regulation, post haste. Nobody should be forced to
participate in a war they do not agree with but they should not be
rewarded as though they had. It is time we get back to teaching our
children the reality of working for the things you desire; only
winners reap the glory of victory.
These
thoughts have been brought to you by
Sarah
.N. Bomar;
maker
of sammiches, changer of poopy diapers,
bourbon
snob ,and aspiring writer.
Feel
free to share but remember, anytime you steal,
Jesus
will kill a kitten.
